World Cup 2014: Group C Preview

Group C 

Group C Prediction 


1. Cote D'Ivoire 
2. Colombia
3. Japan 
4. Greece


Cote D'Ivoire - FIFA Ranking - 23

Cote D'Ivoire suffered disappointment in 2006 and 2010 but this year will be different.  The African powerhouse roster contains talented forwards Wilfred Bony (Swansea), Solomon Kalou (Lille) and the aging yet still prolific Didier Drogba (Galatasary).  The speed of Gervinho (AS Roma) on the wing, will be a nice compliment to the ability of midfielder Yaya Toure (Manchester City) to contribute goals and defense from the center of the midfield.  A midfield which also features Cheick Toite (Newcastle F.C.) is my favorite to advance from this group.  If they play in a 4-3-3 formation, goals will be flying in from all angles.

My Player You Should Know is Serge Aurier (Toulouse).  The 21-year-old right back has the same raw skill set of Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos.  His leaping ability and power when attacking will be valuable on corners and set pieces.  Even though he has only made 7 appearances for Cote D'Ivoire, his youth will help the less speedy central defenders. 

Projected Finish - 1st 

Colombia - FIFA Ranking - 8

Colombia will be without forward Radamel Falcao as his recovery from ACL surgery is taking longer than expected.   This is a massive blow as Falcao was the leading scorer during World Cup Qualifying with a tally of 8. The void he leaves in Colombia's attack will attempted to be filled by Adrian Ramos (Hertha Berlin) who will play for Borussia Dortmund next year and Jackson Martinez (F.C. Porto) who scored 20 goals in 30 league matches this past season in Portugal. Additionally, they conceded the least amount of goals during World Cup Qualifying, which was due to consistent performances from a defense that includes mostly players from European leagues. The pressure will be extremely high for them to advance and coupled with the lose Falcao, I still see them being able to advance even though they will need to overcome these issues..  

My Player You Should Know is James Rodriguez (AS Monaco).  The 21-year-old will need to step up big time.Without Falcao, a teammate both nationally and domestically, has opened the door for him to play as more of an attacking midfielder.  His versatility, passing and creativity makes him an all around threat.  A lefty, Rodriguez will hope to use this tournament to showcase why he should be considered in the same class as names like Edin Hazard, Marco Rues and Mario Gotze.

Projected Finish - 2nd 

Japan  - FIFA Ranking - 46

Japan's boss, Alberto Zaccheroni, brings a very underrated squad to Brazil.  Defenders Yuto Nagamoto (Inter Milan) and Astuto Uchida (Schalke 04) should feature as the outside backs. Uchida, who was named to the 2012-2013 Bundesliga Team of the Season, can also play as an outside midfielder and may feature in a position as such if a more attacking formation is used.  What is most interesting about Japan is that Zaccheroni has named Keisuke Honda (AC Milan) and Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), usually seen in the midfield, to the final 23 man roster as forwards NOT midfielders. Zaccheroni has something up his sleeve and if one team is to surprise in this group and steal a birth to the knockout round it's  Japan.

My Player You Should Know is Shinji Okazaki (FSV Mainz 05).  The 28 year-old striker has scored 38 goals during his international career which began in 2008.  Okazaki scored twice at the 2013 Confederations Cup and was also the leading goal scorer in Asian World Cup Qualifying.  He can score in every way possible as you can see in his highlights.  He will score this World Cup.

Projected Finish - 3rd

Greece  - FIFA Ranking - 12

Greece love to defy the odds.  Beginning with winning the 2004 European Championship.  They will play a traditional 4-4-2, with 37-year-old captain Giorgios Karagounis (Fulham F.C.) anchoring a very experienced team.  However, experience comes with age and the work rate of midfield maybe in question if Karagounis is paired with 34-year-old Kostas Katsouranis (PAOK).  Greece will put up a good fight but the lack of "star power" will hurt them during Brazil. 

My Player You Should Know is Giannis Fetfatzidis (Genoa).  He has been called the "Greek Messi".  Standing at 5'5 Fetftazidis makes up for his lack of size with killer foot skills, skills that may carry him onto an EPL pitch sometime soon.  Look for him to impress at the World Cup and possibly net a goal like this...

Projected Finish - 4th